New study: Millennials love to run half-marathons, enjoy post-race outings
A new running study on millennials reveals some interesting behaviour and motivations for those born after 1980.
Millennials, or Generation Y, have become such a large part of the running community that there is now a study on the motivation and behaviour of those born between 1980 and 2000.
Entitled the Millennial Running Study, results were unveiled at the Running USA conference which was held in Los Angeles this weekend, the site of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
A total of 15,631 millennials were surveyed, 73 per cent of them female, with research having took place this past fall between Oct. 9-31.
Below are some of the main findings of the study thus far (additional findings are expected to be released later this year).
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Millennials enjoy the half-marathon distance
The following percentage of millennials plan to run the following events in the next year:
Marathon (42.2K): 30 per cent
Half-Marathon (21.1K): 82 per cent
10K: 66 per cent
5K: 61 per cent
The report adds that “interest in event types is especially determined by race length. Overwhelmingly, half-marathons seem to be the most popular event type among millennial respondents.”
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Millennials don’t want to pay more than US$50 for entry fees
Money can be a deciding factor in a lot of cases and the study found that young adults are willing to pay between US$26-50 to register for a race.
The study adds that the “majority of millennial respondents indicated they would not be willing to pay for
elements such as training groups, apps or spectator/VIP experiences.”
If a race wants to target a younger audience, use social media
Sixty-four percent of respondents noted that they learn about races through social media. Facebook, at a staggering 95 per cent, is the most popular platform for those who use social media to learn about running events. Twitter is third behind Instagram.
Millennials enjoy social outings following a race
Not surprisingly, the study finds that millennials focus on the experience of the race rather than awards and event sponsorship.
The study adds that respondents “are interested in events with quality branded items or giveaways (“swag” such as t-shirts, bags, etc.), on-course entertainment, post-event parties and the ability to participate with friends.”
More information on the study can be found here.
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